Farm406

Imagine using cale to improve the soil. Well, yes, manure has been used for years as fertilizer, but Tim Dusenberry has found that cale are important to improving the soil in other ways. Learning how to be beer stewards of the soil came about out of necessity for the Dusenberrys who live and farm in the Helena valley. e boom line in their farm operation books wasn't where it needed to be for future success of the family's livestock and farming operation. As a young resourceful farmer, Tim, along with his parents, had the opportunity in 2012 to apply for a Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) project that had grants for improving soil health. Funding that started April 2013 would give the Dusenberrys leeway for having the time to learn and to develop a new direction for the farm by first improving the soil. Starting with the Soil Being given the nod by DNRC to commence with the project set Dusenberry on the path to learning what to grow as cover crops and how they improved the soil quality. "I had never heard of cover crops, but the more I learned farm406 22 P R O D U C E R P R O F I L E BY SUZANNE WARING • PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUZANNE WARING Finding Success In a Different Farming Model about them, the more interested I became," said Dusenberry. e grant allowed him to plant several plots of cover crops composed of a seed mixture with a no-till drill that minimally disturbed the soil. Because of the project's success, Dusenberry now has approximately 225 acres set aside for planned rotation livestock pastures. Tim Dusenberry checks out the cows and calves in a paddock that has been planted in grass that had been hayed at one time. After a short grazing period in this field, it is likely that this paddock won't be used again until next year, so it will have more than enough time to regenerate. This field will be harvested for pig feed that is ground and fed to the pigs throughout the year. The field consists of peas, barley, lentils, oats, and some wild triticale.

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